A/N: This chapter marks a new innovation in battle scenes: the soundtrack! From now on, I'll be putting in different pieces of music I recommend you listen to while you read the scene, to help set the mood. It's completely up to you if you do so (heh, no duh), but...if you're even a little curious, give it a shot!
Chapter 9
An Unspoken Vow! Zabuza Attacks!
死
Team Seven awoke as per usual; Sasuke first, who then woke up Naruto, who then woke up Sakura, Kakashi, Tazuna, Inari, Tsunami, and anyone else in a mile radius with his incessant shouting at Sasuke for being a teme. Some things will never change.
However, today felt different to all parties involved; something in the air, perhaps, or maybe a stronger sea breeze than usual…but whatever it was brought with it a sense of dark foreboding, like a dark cloud looming over them all. Sasuke, thanks to Zian, knew what it was; Zabuza would attack today.
He couldn't warn the others, though, or he would risk them figuring out what he was…besides, he was almost tempted to call in sick, as he was borderline blood-starved (it had been nine days since his last drink, back in the Leaf) and the battle would most likely be (for him) one of self-control. Zian was trying to repress the urges to simply pin someone down and feed to his heart's content, and failing somewhat. At least Sasuke wasn't trying to pull something on, say, Inari (good Kami that brat pissed him off)…yet. If this went on any longer, he wouldn't be able to restrain himself.
Ah, the perils of being a ninja vampire. Still, he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, sitting down as Tsunami bustled about in the kitchen preparing their breakfast.
死
As they ate Tsunami's masterfully prepared meal, Sakura noticed there was something off about Sasuke. He seemed almost…lethargic, for lack of a better term. Not like the usual 'just-got-up' type of tiredness, either. No, this morning Sasuke was more of an 'I-lost-too-much-blood-from-that-katana-wound-so-I 'm-gonna-go-and-faint-in-a-corner-now' languid. He looked pale, almost washed out, and she could see almost all of his veins, a blue network that wound its way beneath nearly-translucent skin. The whites of his eyes were slightly yellowish, with dark circles that suggested that he either slept badly or didn't sleep at all. And when he opened his mouth…the gums were blood red instead of pink, and his incisors seemed a little sharper than normal.
In all, the medic side of her was screaming that something wasn't right, that Sasuke was sick, that he had caught some sort of disease that the denizens of Wave were immune to. So, naturally, when he sat down, she got up and rushed over to him, a worried expression on her face.
"Oh my Kami, Sasuke! You look awful…what's wrong? Do you have a fever? Do you feel nauseous? Dizzy? Faint? Drowsy? Is your vision OK? What about your muscle control?"
Sasuke blinked at the pinkette, who was checking his temperature with the back of her hand, making small, worried noises.
"You feel clammy…maybe you're going into shock? Are your joints stiff? Do you feel cold at all? Dammit, Uchiha, tell me so I can figure out what's wrong!"
To her surprise, Sasuke snorted, taking another sip of green tea before deigning to reply.
"There's nothing wrong, Sakura."
Sakura's eyebrow twitched. Her Inner screamed at her to punch the living daylights out of the boy before her, to give him a taste of his own medicine (even though he'd never hit her, but details didn't really matter) and beat him senseless. Honestly, the boy was too proud for his own good.
"But you're—!"
"Leave it. I know what's wrong, it's not contagious, and it won't hamper my performance. It's private information anyway."
Sasuke cut her off before she could fuss over him any more, getting up with his now-empty plate and leaving the room, sticking it in the sink as he passed. Sakura narrowed her eyes after him.
There was something going on with him, and she wouldn't rest until she found out exactly what it was.
死
Sasuke shut the bathroom door, locking it behind him, as he slid down the wall and to the floor. Seriously, why couldn't girls leave anything alone?! His vampiric side was borderline blood-starved (for Kami's sake, he was barely restraining himself from jumping at her and sucking her dry as she ate breakfast!), he was tired, Zian was screaming near-constantly at him to get some damn food!, and he was worried.
Why?
Because there would almost certainly be a battle today, and blood would definitely be shed. Spilling blood around a starving vampire is generally not a good idea. So, Sasuke could only hope that he was able to face off with Zabuza's senbon-wielding cohort (as Kakashi would most definitely take on the swordsman himself) and that the Mist-born ninja used the Kirigakure no Jutsu again. Then, he could use his vampiric form to take the girl out and feed without anyone seeing. However…she was most likely Zabuza's apprentice, so her jutsu skills would be hard to beat. Add to that her apparent mastery of senbon and he'd have quite the time trying to prevent her from taking his head as a prize. But hell, he was a starving first-generation vampire with a dormant Doujutsu, pyrotechnic tendencies, and one hell of a right hook. He couldn't afford to lose.
As for now…he'd have to concentrate on controlling the urge to feed. If there wasn't a battle today…he'd either have to tell everyone about his condition, or run off to feed in secret in the middle of the night. Neither option appealed to him, of course, but he'd do what he needed to.
Offhandedly, he wondered what the others thought. They must've heard him slam and lock the bathroom door…
死
Kakashi, downstairs, giggled, perverted thoughts racing through his head. Sasuke locking himself in the bathroom after talking to Sakura? Now if that wasn't evidence, he didn't know what was.
Sakura paled. Her sensei was doing it again; the schoolgirl persona. She streaked up the stairs and barricaded herself in her room.
Naruto shivered. A feeling of foreboding slithered over him, warning him of a potential threat. Shrieking at the top of his lungs, he ran after Sakura, diving into the hall closet to wait out the storm.
死
Sasuke wondered what all the noise from downstairs was. He heard a lot of screaming…
死
Inari laughed slightly (having come out of his 'there-are-no-heroes' funk when he watched Naruto defeat a couple of bandits trying to take some old lady's purse while giving an inspirational speech), while Tsunami smiled at both the team's antics and her son's lighter attitude. Tazuna shook his head with a small grin on his weathered face, the beginnings of a chuckle rumbling in his chest. Kakashi looked up in confusion, wondering where his team had gone.
死
About an hour later, Sasuke strode down the stairs (having showered, dressed, and sharpened his weapons) to meet his team and Tazuna.
"Ready to go?"
"Hai!"
Sakura chimed, hair in a high ponytail, wearing and outfit that made it look like she'd cut the midsection area and sleeves off of her cheongsam. Thankfully (for Sasuke), she wore a netting shirt to cover her bare stomach, right shoulder, and the entirety of her left arm. Her arms and hands were covered in bandages from the first finger joints to the elbow, making it look like she was wearing fingerless gloves over the netting. She also had kunoichi boots with shin guards, all black in color. Her red hitai'ate was around her forehead, Konoha symbol gleaming in the light.
"HAAAI~, DATTEBAYO~!"
Naruto all but screamed, wearing his usual jumpsuit.
"Aa."
Sasuke himself was wearing a black sleeveless shirt (high-collared) instead of his usual navy T-shirt, standard white shorts, black zori, and bandages instead of arm-warmers. Other than that, he looked the same.
Kakashi (who wore the exact same thing he always did) beamed happily.
"Good! Then let's move out, Team Seven and cargo!"
Naturally, Tazuna wasn't exactly pleased at his new title.
"I'm not your cargo, dammit, I'm your CLIENT!"
Kakashi waved a hand.
"Ma, ma, same difference."
Sakura, Naruto, Tsunami, and Inari laughed, while Sasuke smirked and Tazuna sputtered. And so Team Seven (and cargo!) embarked on their journey.
死
Naruto's nose twitched, and the Kyuubi growled in his head.
Shut up, bastard fox.
Hn. Brat. There's something off here. If you get yourself killed like the idiot you are, I'll drag your sorry ass outta hell and beat the shit outta it.
Shut. Up.
This had been happening since he'd found out about the beast's existence; it would talk to him sometimes (more like bitch at him), telling him not to die and to kick his sorry ass into gear. Which meant that the fox was either worried for his safety (extremely unlikely), or something bad would happen to it should he die (almost certainly). Che, stupid Bijuu, making his life difficult as usual. His brain hurt, along with the soles of his feet from channeling so much chakra through them. It had taken Naruto almost a full week to master the tree-climbing exercise, and that was with him spending thirteen or fourteen hours on that alone. Sakura's advice had helped (match the frequency of your chakra to that of the tree…it's all based on intent; if you want to climb the tree, your chakra will work more effectively. If you don't want to climb the tree but try anyway, your chakra will fight you.), but he was no prodigy, like she and (as much as he hated to admit it) Sasuke were. So he simply dealt with falling over and over, dusting himself of and leaping back to the bark.
Sure, it hurt like hell, but it was worth it to finally scale the damn two-hundred-foot-tall piece of wood. It stung that Sakura had managed to get up her tree first, chanelling the perfect amount of chakra into her feet on the first try. At least he hadn't let himself be beaten by Sasuke; the Uchiha had taken a couple hours longer than him to learn his rhythm. Kakashi-sensei had said that it was the hardest for the teme because his "chakra kept fluctuating," whatever that meant.
Heh, it was probably because his chakra hated him because of his undeniable bastard-ness.
Whatever the case, Naruto, the dead-last loser, had beaten out the class prodigy (well, one of them), and he wasn't about to let it go.
死
"SHIT!"
The silver-haired samurai with many tattoos cried as a purplish barrier surrounded him and his companion. Gatou had hired them to go in and kill Tazuna's daughter and grandson, but they hadn't been expecting a ninja's protection…
Twin screams of terror filled the forest as the two were simultaneously poisoned, stabbed, burned, drowned, electrocuted, crushed, sliced, torn apart from the inside, and devoured by their own chakra.
…Sasuke's perimeter was the more effective, after all.
Somewhere in the distance, Naruto sneezed.
死
Sasuke hissed under his breath as they approached the bridge. Good Kami, the anticipation was killing him! He could almost smell the bloodscent…so warm, sweet, and fresh…
It was then that he realized it; Kakashi's charcoal-gray eye had narrowed. The man's sense of smell was damn good, from what he'd read; even better than his own when it was fully released.
The bloodscent was real.
It had begun.
Kakashi started running, darting between crates and beams as the mist began to thicken, heavily laden with chakra.
Kirigakure, ne?
Here we go, gaki.
All around them lay Tazuna's men, in varying states of being. Some had been brutally gutted, others beaten into unconsciousness, still others stabbed with unyielding precision by long, thin senbon. There was one who wasn't quite under yet, propped up against one of the bridge's supports with twin needles lodged in his neck. Kakashi lifted his chin with two fingers, and spoke in a calm voice,
{{Soundtrack Start: Dark Mage, Fairy Tail OST}}
"Who did this to you?"
Tazuna was shivering violently. It wasn't often that he saw death, after all. Sasuke felt his muscles beginning to spasm, felt his heart clench uncomfortably in his chest as he struggled to keep it beating.
So much blood…all of it still warm and recently spilled…Kami help him, he was losing control.
Sakura shot him a concerned look.
She probably thinks I'm shaking in fear…oh how wrong you are…
The man's eyes were wide, bloodshot, filled with a terror that echoed in his shaking voice.
"Za…bu…za…"
Sasuke shook even more, gritting his teeth against the waves of pain washing over his system. In his head, Zian writhed in agony from keeping the transformation at bay for so long.
Hurry it up, gaki! I can't hold this for long!
I'm trying…I cant exactly summon him here, can I?!
The Uchiha severed the mental link, concentrating on keeping his head. Meanwhile, Sakura and Naruto watched their quaking companion with worry. He was clenching his fists so hard that blood was actually beginning to spill, an almost-black color that stood out starkly against the whitish-gray of the paving stones.
The mist thickened slowly, moving in and coalescing into a blank veil that separated and suffocated them all.
"I see you've finally arrived…Ka-ka-shi…"
{{Soundtrack Start: Demon Deliora, Fairy Tail OST}}
Zabuza's voice had taken on a menacingly playful lilt, pausing between the syllables of Kakashi's name to let them fall like birds with wings broken. Sasuke could hear it; Zabuza's heatbeat, strong and swift, tailed by another, weaker and faster.
It must be the apprentice…
The fact that you can hear their heartbeats is worrying. They're trained assassins, masking their presence with chakra. Even Kakashi cant sense them.
And this means…?
It's starting. The vampirism is forcing you into a transformation out of sheer hunger.
Can't you stop it? You ARE the vampirism!
Fool! I am not the vampirism; I'm the culmination of the Uchiha clan's knowledge, created by the son of the Six Paths and passed down through the generations, sealed into the clan's most promising ninja!
Wait…if you're not the vampirism…then was the silver-haired man in my mind that first time…
Hai. That was Naizo, your vampiric side. Though why he was impersonating me I don't know. He's a hell of a lot uglier than I am. And can we PLEASE stop saying "the vampirism?!" It sounds REALLY weird!
…You have a shitload of explaining to do.
I know, but it can wait.
Sasuke bit his lip as two figures emerged from the mist, which had formed a sort of arena around them all. Sakura and Tazuna were the furthest back, with Naruto just ahead of them, and Sasuke and Kakashi a bit further towards the center. Zabuza and the hunter-nin girl from before stood there, calm as a breeze. The taller man smirked, his bandages obscuring the expression and turning it into a shadowy movement of cloth.
"So…we meet again."
"I can't say I'm happy to see you, Zabuza."
"No matter. Just hand over the bridge builder and no one gets hurt. Except for him, of course, but what can you do? Surely you don't intend to fight toe-to-toe…my Haku would crush your little Genin with his pinky finger."
"HIS?! That's a BOY?! He's even prettier than SAKURA!"
Naruto shrieked, earning himself a thwack on the head with the weighted end of Sakura's kusarigama.
"DAMMIT NARUTO BE SERIOUS!"
Kakashi sweatdropped as Zabuza's smirk grew.
"Ma, ma, I guess it can't be helped…Sasuke-kun, if you would?"
Sasuke's lips curled into a feral smile dripping with a rather disturbing amount of bloodlust. He stepped forward to face Haku, voice rumbling a little in his throat.
"My pleasure…"
Kakashi looked over to Zabuza.
"You have your shinobi prodigy and I have mine…this is Uchiha Sasuke, the Academy's Rookie of the Year, regarded as the brightest star in Konoha's Genin Corps. A genius of ninjutsu, if you will."
Zabuza smirked again.
{{Soundtrack Start: Natsu's Magic II: Fire Dragon's Sword Edge, Fairy Tail OST}}
"So this is the last Uchiha, hmm? Good…Haku?"
"Hai?"
"Take him out. Make it painful."
"Hai, Zabuza-sama."
Haku stepped forward, three senbon appearing in each hand.
"Uchiha Sasuke…I will show you the true meaning of 'shinobi.'"
Sasuke's grin widened as his teeth elongated even more, and talons began to form at the tips of his fingers. His gaze seemed to get just a hint redder as he stared the other boy down.
"Bring it on, pretty boy. Or are you scared you'll break a nail?"
Haku fists clenched around his weapons.
{{Soundtrack Start: Chaoz Airflow, ParagonX9}}
They were locked in a staredown.
Even if Sasuke couldn't see the other boy's eyes, he still narrowed his own at him, analyzing his stance, his weaponry, his chakra signature (with Zian's help, of course; having a several-thousand-year-old incarnation of knowledge in your head did have its perks)…everything Sasuke could see was privy to Zian, who in turn formulated a battle plan.
His weak points…looks like the ankles are delicate, maybe those?
Don't be fooled kid, he's got a shitload of chakra reinforcements there.
Ribs?
Nope.
Spine?
Nope.
Kidneys?
Look, will you just let me do all the observation and get out there and fight the brat?!
…Do I have a choice?
No.
"What's wrong, Kakashi's brat? You getting scared already? Hell yes you are! You're shaking in fear!"
"You're wrong."
Zabuza looked up from his taunting to see wisps of purple-red chakra streaming off of the Uchiha boy, curling like dark tendrils of flame.
"I'm shaking…with excitement."
With that, Sasuke leapt up, flipping in midair to unsheathe two special kunai, made for close-range combat with longer-than-average blades and more durability than their lightweight counterparts. A powerful downward swing with both hands had Sasuke's knives buried in the ground and Haku rolling to the side, using the motion to fling his senbon. Sasuke swerved to the side, missing the needles by a hairsbreadth as he whipped the daggers out of the cement and lunged again.
It almost looked like a dance, Sakura reflected. A very deadly dance with very sharp weapons instead of maracas.
…Shit. Now she'd be stuck with the image of Sasuke in a sombrero and poncho, dancing the Macarena with maracas, all week.
Meanwhile, Sasuke and Haku continued their battle, as Zabuza sprang at Kakashi with his huge sword unsheathed and Naruto jumped to defend Sakura and Tazuna from the ten-or-so water clones that the missing nin had conjured.
She was left to wonder, as she watched Sasuke take a couple of senbon to the shoulder before retaliating with a lightning-fast swipe that left Haku's upper right arm bleeding, if they would all come out of the battle relatively unscathed.
Or if they would come out of it at all.
死
~Tsuzuku~
A/N: I know, I know…I'm evil. But I have a reason for the cliffie; I wanted to get this out today because I'll be doing a special intermission chapter next week for Sasuke's birthday. Which is July 23rd. I'm obsessed. XD
Anyways…I'm actually pretty happy. Even though Okaa-san didn't end up letting me go to Anime Expo, TDCT still went, and sent me a bunch of pictures (including one of her awesome new poster featuring America and England from Hetala…USxUK FOREVER!), and I'm getting together with her next week, so…yeah. We're doing an Attack on Titan marathon, from what we've discussed, as well as otaku-ing out over bowls of heavenly fried rice. So…yeah. Woo!
I won't be able to write much in the coming days: final for summer school on Thursday, as well as chillin' with my cousins Saturday and Sunday…but I SHALL PERSEVERE! That's actually part of the reason I'm doing a Sasuke-birthday-special…the other part of said reason is the fact that I NEED MOAR HUMOR!
…Yeah. Anyway, I've had an anon reviewing on recent chapters, saying that I need to "deviate more from canon." So, inspired by that, I've decided to write some little messages to you guys, from my heart.
To the Anon Reviewer:
Don't worry. It's coming. Trust me. Ever heard of the Ripple Effect? One small change can cause a lot of shit to hit the fan…which is precisely what it's going to do. The gears are turning, my friend…be patient and we'll start seeing some pretty big changes.
To All My Reviewers, Followers, and Fave-ers:
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for seeing this through! I love all you guys, and without you I wouldn't be able to be where I am, which is 45673 WORDS, 100 PAGES, TEN CHAPTERS, AND COUNTING! I really appreciate the fact that you take time and effort out of your day and/or life to read this and review it, or add it to your favorites, or follow it. Seriously, you're all awesome. You don't know how happy I get when I get reviews/follows/faves; it seriously brightens my whole day. So…in short, THANK YOU!
To All My Readers:
I have not forgotten you, my dear silent ones. You're all just as epic as the rest of 'em for taking the time to read my budding little fan-novel (seriously, it's a bit to long to just be a fanfic at this point…), and getting me over 2480 VIEWS! YESSSSS!
Special Thanks to:
LilyVampire, l0NeR-f0r-LiFe, tsukinopen, SatoshiKyu, seti31, SharinganUchiha, and (of course) EmoOtakuTDCT, for reviewing consistently/giving helpful edits/for reviewing at all.
KBA-CHAN'S OMAKE THEATER!
This week: Tomato Season
"Tomatoooo, tomatooooo, tomatooooo~!"
Sasuke sang to himself as he skipped through the green, green fields, wicker basket in hand and white summer dress (yes, you heard right, white summer dress) blowing in the wind. The sky was blue, the grass was green, and the tomatoes were ripe for the picking.
Konoha's tomato season had arrived, and Sasuke, the village's resident Romano-esque tomato-lover, was in heaven. The red fruits were perfect, round and juicy and brilliant, Sharingan red. He grinned as he grabbed one, just large enough to fit in his hand, and bit into it, the warm juices rolling down his tongue with their classic tomato flavor…wait, no, that was tangier than tomato…it tasted like blood. Shrugging, Sasuke squeezed the tomato again, and was rewarded with a sharp pain in the side of his head. Maybe the tomato gods were angry at him?
…
Outside of Sasuke's dream world, Naruto laughed as Sakura tried in vain to dislodged the drooling Sasuke's iron grip on her chest with a series of punches to the head.
Sasuke: You don't have too many reviewers, do you?
KBA: *hits him over the head with her frying pan* You know I'm insecure about THAT!
Sasuke: *breaks his face on the pan, then on the ground, then on Itachi's foot* OW! What the hell, aniiki?!
Itachi: You deserved that, otouto. Don't comment on the number of reviewers KBA has.
Sasuke: Maybe she should ask people to review?
KBA: NO! I WILL NOT! *pulls out Gatling gun as long as she is tall*
Sasuke: …Sorry I asked?
TDCT: DAMN STRAIGHT! *pulls out bazooka*
Sasuke: …SHIIIIIIIIIT~! *starts running*
KBA and TDCT: *start firing and laughing insanely*
Itachi: …What am I doing with my life…? Oh, wait…SASUKE!
Sasuke: *still running from TDCT and KBA* YEAH?!
Itachi: WHY WERE YOU GROPING SAKURA IN YOUR SLEEP?!
Sasuke: *stops suddenly; TDCT and KBA crash into his back*
TDCT: What the hell, man?! We were shooting at you there!
KBA: Yeah! Wait, what did Itachi say about you gro—!
Sasuke: *slaps piece of duct tape over KBA's mouth, blushing* SHUT UP!
KBA: Mph mm hmmm?! Nhmhmggg hm phhhhhhmm mnuhm?! (Translation: Wait, what?! When did this happen?!)
Itachi: Sometime during the timeskip between this chapter and the last one, I presume. So, otouto…was it worth it?
Sasuke: WHAT THE HELL?! *rears back looking extremely disturbed* REALLY, ITACHI?!
Itachi: You know, I've had a few girlfriends…I could teach you some tricks of the trade…
Sasuke: NO.
Itachi: But—
Sasuke: NO.
Itachi: Fine. You win. But I get to introduce the next chapter announcer!
TDCT: Cool with me. KBA?
KBA: Mmmhmmmnuhnmh ghhnmhnph nuuuuunmhmhnhmnphun! (Translation: Will someone PLEASE get this (birdcall) duct tape off?!)
TDCT: *grins* She agrees.
KBA: MMMPH! (Translation: DAMMIT!)
Itachi: You can come in now!
*door opens; Zabuza walks in; everyone stares*
KBA: …I did not see that coming.
TDCT: Of course you didn't! No one expects…
Zabuza: …the Spanish Inquisition!
TDCT and Zabuza: *strike a pose*
Everyone Else: What the (birdcall), guys.
Zabuza: *grins* Nice one, TDCT. Anyways, 'bout that intro…
TDCT: You too! And go for it!
Zabuza: *Announcer-Voice-no-Jutsu!* A blast from the past! Our young hero's most disastrous day of menial, monstrous, and all around monochromatic missions! Tune in next time for: Sasuke's Worst Day! The Land of Sweets Incident!
Sasuke: …I don't think I like the sound of that…
KBA: *grins evilly* Oh, you'll like it even less when you're in it…
TDCT: I like the way you think.
This chapter's page break is shi, or death.